$200K still needed for theatre

Friday

Sep 20, 2013 at 2:12 PM

Drew Van DykeMMI Editor

Fourth Street Theatre, Inc., says they still need in excess of $200,000 to complete work on their namesake long-renovated downtown playhouse.

“Many calls and e-mails are being received to find out what is going on with the theatre,” said Carolee Hazlet, treasurer with the non-profit group, in an email correspondence with the MMI on Sept. 14. “There is a way to go, as around $200,000 more is needed to totally complete the work with the lights, seats, stage curtains and other necessary items.”

The Fourth Street Theatre has been under construction for the past 10 years, as the aforementioned group says they wish to collect only funding to go along with their work, to avoid ringing up a debt upon its completion.

In a March 2013 newsletter regarding the building’s renovation progress, it is noted that there is seen “light at the end of the tunnel” after a successful donation season. The theatre’s website (www.fourthstreettheater. com), in a post labeled as from the same month and year, says that a completion date for the project is expected in spring 2014.

The website also notes that “the cost of the entire project is one million dollars.”

In a 2010 posting on the website cinematreasures.org, a person calling herself “Carolee” is quoted as saying, “We have raised over $700,000 [for the theatre] so far and have about $250,000 to go.”

An Oct. 17, 2011 post on the Fourth Street Theatre, Inc.’s official Facebook page notes that the project is 80 percent complete, and still needs $200,000.

In a Dec. 2011 interview with KOMU, Hazlet noted that Fourth Street Theatre, Inc. still needs “about $300,000 to finish the project, which she hopes will happen in late 2012.”

The Fourth Street Theatre, Inc.’s 990 tax-exempt organization return forms for 2012 (which were received by the IRS on May 14, 2013), note that the non-profit started the year with $72,201 in total assets, and received, over the course of said year, $103,623 in “contributions and grants.” Total expenses for the year came to $31,542, leaving the group with $144,291 in net assets/fund balance.

Hazlet said that “fundraising continues and any donations are appreciated very much.”